Women You Need to Know in Martech: Adele Sweetwood

Adele Sweetwood is a widely accomplished marketing executive who guides strategies and go-to-market programs that deliver new levels of revenue and market share in highly competitive market sectors. Her current global role includes driving ... more

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Please help us to congratulate Adele Sweetwood!

By sharing her accomplishment, you're not only amplifying the collective voice of brilliant, deserving women — you are also reinforcing your support for women, in all workplaces and all industries, around the world.

To kick off our Women in Martech Series, and to be considered one of 50 Women You Need to Know in Martech - 2018, we asked women to provide their thoughts in three areas: Career, Martech in Practice and Women in Martech.

Women in Martech is a weekly series, beginning in January 2018, based on the thoughts, advice and opinions of real women about marketing and marketing technology.

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Here’s what Adele had to say!

What 3 things do you wish someone would have told you at the onset of your career?

1. Embrace change

Embrace change as an opportunity for growth, and add a healthy dose of inquisitiveness to your approach.

Having a positive view on the idea of continual change will teach you how to adapt more quickly, prioritize what is most relevant and manage the stressful components.

2. Be your own best advocate

While it’s reasonable to expect your leadership and peers to offer praise and encouragement, it’s up to YOU to be visible. Tell your story, share your success, voice your opinions, volunteer for projects.

Take the time for some shameless self-promotion — not to an obnoxious level, but often enough to build your credibility within the organization.

3. Be mindful of communication differences

About 80 percent of the time, problems are caused by communication challenges (This is my experience — not science).

Be conscious of the fact that your communication style (both giving and receiving) may be drastically different from those around you, and it may not always translate.

For example, are you someone who talks out loud to think or process information, or are you someone who needs time separately to process and think before you speak? Figure out your own style, be sensitive to the styles of others, then adjust accordingly. The payoff will be better communication!

What are the most important skills to learn when starting a career in martech?

A marketing career has become a technology career, but depending on the program, you may not have gotten enough of the technology side in your education.

Fortunately, if you’re a recent graduate and just starting your career, you’re probably a digital native and very comfortable with technology in general.

What are some of the ‘tech-like’ proficiencies you need? The importance of data and analytics is paramount. You’ll also need knowledge of social and digital technologies, media and channels.

Storytelling — both from a creative standpoint and from a scientific side. Use the data and analysis to help you bring the story to life.

Do you think the intersection of marketing and technology is currently having or will have an impact on women in the industry? How so?

The numbers, according to a Muse piece, state that 56 percent of the workforce is women.

That world is much smaller for women in tech — only 28 percent on the software side, 25 percent in IT, 11 percent are executives and only 5 percent in the startup space are owned by women.

But, we’re going in the right direction with a rise in STEM-focused female graduates.

What about women in marketing? Those numbers are higher, with the Boston Globe reporting 45 to 55 percent of marketing roles are filled by women. No surprise, but it still seems a bit low.

There’s no doubt that the intersection of marketing and technology will boost the numbers of women in the industry — This is simple math. It’s more interesting to think about how we can keep the two topics converging.

Marketing today cannot exist without technology — It’s fully embedded in the function and the talent. By designing marketing organizations that keep technology, data and analytics as a core element of every marketer’s skillset, we’ll continue to fuel the growth of marketers and the growth of a company.

Do not make martech a separate function or division or isolate it from your traditional marketing team. Empower your marketers — All of them, including women.